Wikipedia's worst sentences

[Hex]

On the brief-lived Chicago White Sox (T-H-L) experiment in wearing shorts in 1976:

Apart from aesthetic issues, as a practical matter shorts are not conducive to sliding, due to the likelihood of significant abrasions.

This is either one of the worst sentences, or possibly the best.

[Poetlister]

Ring Nebula (T-H-L): "M57 is 0.7 kpc (2,300 light-years) from Earth." In fact, and indeed as noted in the infobox, there is a huge uncertainty in that figure. The sentence should read something like "The best estimate is that M57 is 0.7 kpc (2,300 light years) from Earth; however, this is very uncertain and a plauaible range is from 0.5 to 1.15 kpc (1,600 to 3,800 light years)."

[thekohser]

The nation's full roster in Rio de Janeiro shared the same size as those sent to London four years earlier, with a slight imbalance between two opposite genders and an inclusion of one more sport; about seventy-one percent of the Virgin Islands team members were men.

[AndyTheGrump]

The nation's full roster in Rio de Janeiro shared the same size as those sent to London four years earlier, with a slight imbalance between two opposite genders and an inclusion of one more sport; about seventy-one percent of the Virgin Islands team members were men.

Arggh, my eyes. Sadly the Wikipedian responsible, Raymarcbadz (T-C-L), seems to specialise in convoluted and grammatically-questionable prose concerning the make-up of Olympic teams. Clearly well–intentioned, but poorly executed.

A further example of Raymarcbadz's work:

Four athletes on the Uruguayan roster previously competed in London, with only two of them headed to their fourth Games: hurdler Andrés Silva and sailing legend Alejandro Foglia, who finished among the top eight in the Laser class before moving to Finn. Apart from Foglia, several athletes also enjoyed their Olympic affair in Rio de Janeiro, including Alejandro's older sister Mariana, who teamed up with her husband Pablo Defazio in the Nacra 17 category, as well as twins Martín and Nicolás Cuestas, who both ran in the men's marathon.

Raymarcbadz has been editing Wikipedia for 10 years.

[Amglish]

The nation's full roster in Rio de Janeiro shared the same size as those sent to London four years earlier, with a slight imbalance between two opposite genders and an inclusion of one more sport; about seventy-one percent of the Virgin Islands team members were men.

Arggh, my eyes. Sadly the Wikipedian responsible, Raymarcbadz (T-C-L), seems to specialise in convoluted and grammatically-questionable prose concerning the make-up of Olympic teams. Clearly well–intentioned, but poorly executed.

A further example of Raymarcbadz's work:

Four athletes on the Uruguayan roster previously competed in London, with only two of them headed to their fourth Games: hurdler Andrés Silva and sailing legend Alejandro Foglia, who finished among the top eight in the Laser class before moving to Finn. Apart from Foglia, several athletes also enjoyed their Olympic affair in Rio de Janeiro, including Alejandro's older sister Mariana, who teamed up with her husband Pablo Defazio in the Nacra 17 category, as well as twins Martín and Nicolás Cuestas, who both ran in the men's marathon.

Raymarcbadz has been editing Wikipedia for 10 years.

Is that why wikipedia reads like it does?!

[greyed.out.fields]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_Rock#Release (T-H-L)

"Rock the Casbah", which had been musically composed by drummer Topper Headon, reached number 8 on the U.S. singles chart.

It would seem somewhat obvious that he hadn't composed it out of, let's say, halloumi cheese or balsa wood.

[Poetlister]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_Rock#Release (T-H-L)

"Rock the Casbah", which had been musically composed by drummer Topper Headon, reached number 8 on the U.S. singles chart.

It would seem somewhat obvious that he hadn't composed it out of, let's say, halloumi cheese or balsa wood.

Nothing is obvious unless you have a reliable, verifiable source. If you don't, it's original research.

[Poetlister]

"She was the first actor to win multiple Academy Awards and the first actress to win them consecutively." (Luise Rainer (T-H-L)) Why "multiple" rather than "two" and why switch from "actor" to "actress"? "The first actor to win two Academy Awards" is ample for the lead. Obviously, nobody before her could have won two consecutively, since nobody had won two!

[arthur]

The Fool on the Hill (T-H-L))

“No longer performing regular concerts when they released "The Fool on the Hill" on record, the Beatles or The Quarrymen as they were once known as in the late 1950s and early 1960s when they would practice Fool On The Hill in The Cavern Club.”

I’m still trying to find the main clause…

[thekohser]

The Fool on the Hill (T-H-L))

“No longer performing regular concerts when they released "The Fool on the Hill" on record, the Beatles or The Quarrymen as they were once known as in the late 1950s and early 1960s when they would practice Fool On The Hill in The Cavern Club.”

I’m still trying to find the main clause…

That's fantastic -- thank you for that gem.

[ReverendWayne]

New Faces of 1952 (T-H-L)

There were seven "New Faces" in all: 1934, 1936, 1943, 1962, and 1968.

[Poetlister]

New Faces of 1952 (T-H-L)

There were seven "New Faces" in all: 1934, 1936, 1943, 1962, and 1968.

The article should have mentioned the film New Faces of 1937. This was the first film apprearance of Ann Miller (T-H-L) and Milton Berle (T-H-L), and the plot served as the inspiration for The Producers (1968 film) (T-H-L).

[trout]

Laurens van der Post (T-H-L)

Sir Laurens Jan van der Post, CBE (13 December 1906 – 16 December 1996), was a 20th-century Afrikaner author, farmer, war hero, political adviser to British heads of government, close friend of Prince Charles, godfather of Prince William, educator, journalist, humanitarian, philosopher, explorer and conservationist. However his reputation took a battering after his death.

Danger: schoolboys at work.

[Poetlister]

Laurens van der Post (T-H-L)

Sir Laurens Jan van der Post, CBE (13 December 1906 – 16 December 1996), was a 20th-century Afrikaner author, farmer, war hero, political adviser to British heads of government, close friend of Prince Charles, godfather of Prince William, educator, journalist, humanitarian, philosopher, explorer and conservationist. However his reputation took a battering after his death.

Danger: schoolboys at work.

Later in the same article:

It was revealed that in 1952 he had fathered a child with a 14-year-old girl ... Her pregnancy prevented her from pursuing her dream to become a ballerina.

He did this shocking thing and the worst consequence is that she couldn't become a ballerina?

Still later in the same article:

These and other facts were brought together in J.D.F. Jones's Storyteller: The Many Lives of Laurens van der Post (2001), an authorised and a book considered, for the most part, a balanced biography.

The second half of the sentence obviously needs correction. There is no reference supporting the claim that the book was authorised or that it was considered to be balanced.

[trout]

Still later in the same article:

These and other facts were brought together in J.D.F. Jones's Storyteller: The Many Lives of Laurens van der Post (2001), an authorised and a book considered, for the most part, a balanced biography.

The second half of the sentence obviously needs correction. There is no reference supporting the claim that the book was authorised or that it was considered to be balanced.

It clearly wasn't authorised, and what's more that title is incorrect.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing ... 849&sr=1-1

It's interesting that so many people didn't notice LVDP wasn't telling the truth during his lifetime, I suppose.

[Johnny Au]

Staples (Canada) (T-H-L)

Staples also offers Extended Service Plan's and Furniture Protection Plan's. The Extended Service Plan's is available on most electronics, offering over the counter replacement plans for non-computer items under $249.99 CAD, repair plans for items that cost $250 or over and for computers, and a one-time Accidental Damage Plan for laptops and for cameras. The Furniture Protection Plan is available on all furniture pieces; when your furniture item needs repair, a serviceman will repair your item on-site, for free. In some areas, a serviceman is not available. If that is the case, then Staples will "buy you out" and send you store credit for the amount spent on the furniture item.

[Zoloft]

Staples (Canada) (T-H-L)

Staples also offers Extended Service Plan's and Furniture Protection Plan's. The Extended Service Plan's is available on most electronics, offering over the counter replacement plans for non-computer items under $249.99 CAD, repair plans for items that cost $250 or over and for computers, and a one-time Accidental Damage Plan for laptops and for cameras. The Furniture Protection Plan is available on all furniture pieces; when your furniture item needs repair, a serviceman will repair your item on-site, for free. In some areas, a serviceman is not available. If that is the case, then Staples will "buy you out" and send you store credit for the amount spent on the furniture item.

*twitches*

[thekohser]

Staples (Canada) (T-H-L)

Staples also offers Extended Service Plan's and Furniture Protection Plan's. The Extended Service Plan's is available on most electronics, offering over the counter replacement plans for non-computer items under $249.99 CAD, repair plans for items that cost $250 or over and for computers, and a one-time Accidental Damage Plan for laptops and for cameras. The Furniture Protection Plan is available on all furniture pieces; when your furniture item needs repair, a serviceman will repair your item on-site, for free. In some areas, a serviceman is not available. If that is the case, then Staples will "buy you out" and send you store credit for the amount spent on the furniture item.

*twitches*

Good thing Wikipedia policy discourages Staples from looking after this content, eh? Leave it to the unbiased volunteer experts!

[ReverendWayne]

List of incomplete or partially lost films (T-H-L)

A Dangerous Adventure (1922)

The UCLA Film and Television Archive has episodes 1-11 and 13-15 of the 15-chapter serial with the exception of episode 12.

[Hex]

High Street (T-H-L)

The House of Commons in 2006 established its All Party Parliamentary Small Shops Group which warned against current trends in high streets named High Street Britain 2015.[3]

I find it unlikely that any street would be called "High Street Britain 2015", let alone that there are enough of them to detect trends.

[Hex]

List of incomplete or partially lost films (T-H-L)

A Dangerous Adventure (1922)

The UCLA Film and Television Archive has episodes 1-11 and 13-15 of the 15-chapter serial with the exception of episode 12.

That almost brings a tear to the eye.

[thekohser]

This one follows a particularly winding course and assumes many arbitrary things as "given":

In case of customers being corporate accounts during the market segmentation process, interest creation and purchase are done through direct sales, agents or the internet.

[Poetlister]

This one follows a particularly winding course and assumes many arbitrary things as "given":

In case of customers being corporate accounts during the market segmentation process, interest creation and purchase are done through direct sales, agents or the internet.

From article Go to market (T-H-L). I find 14 Google hits for that sentence. Presumably the WP article was first, though you can't always be sure.

[hack]

Tooth and Co. (T-H-L)

The minutes of the meeting are presented in a plain form, in a manner suggesting three witches about a cauldron in a darkened room.

[Poetlister]

Tooth and Co. (T-H-L)

The minutes of the meeting are presented in a plain form, in a manner suggesting three witches about a cauldron in a darkened room.

From the same article (emphasis mine):

The disposal started in 1991, and concluded on 24 December 1999 when AdSteam, under its new name Residual Assco Group Limited, was delisted. Subsequently, AdSteam in 1983 sold the brewing interests to Carlton & United Breweries).

And yes, the bracket was closed although it had not been opened.

[hack]

Along with his consistently, perfectly coiffed mane of glorious hair, the reigning, defending, undisputed champion of UFC Announcing is gifted in the use of his unique catch phrases

Bruce Buffer (T-H-L)

[Poetlister]

Tooth and Co. (T-H-L)

The minutes of the meeting are presented in a plain form, in a manner suggesting three witches about a cauldron in a darkened room.

From the same article (emphasis mine):

The disposal started in 1991, and concluded on 24 December 1999 when AdSteam, under its new name Residual Assco Group Limited, was delisted. Subsequently, AdSteam in 1983 sold the brewing interests to Carlton & United Breweries).

And yes, the bracket was closed although it had not been opened.

And the inevitable happened.

[Poetlister]

John Zachary Young (T-H-L):

He carried on doing research and publishing scientific papers until (and beyond) his death in July 1997.

What a man!

[greyed.out.fields]

Tooth and Co. (T-H-L)

The minutes of the meeting are presented in a plain form, in a manner suggesting three witches about a cauldron in a darkened room.

From the same article (emphasis mine):

The disposal started in 1991, and concluded on 24 December 1999 when AdSteam, under its new name Residual Assco Group Limited, was delisted. Subsequently, AdSteam in 1983 sold the brewing interests to Carlton & United Breweries).

And yes, the bracket was closed although it had not been opened.

And the inevitable happened.

Continuing the beer theme...
Tooheys Old (T-H-L)

Many people, seem to have the saying that Tooheys Old is newer than Tooheys New. Whether this is because Tooheys Old was not widely distributed till the 70's or branded at Tooheys Old, we don't know. And the lighter coloured lager was commonly consumed a long time before that.

[ReverendWayne]

Nippon Columbia (T-H-L)

Aside from common historical roots, the current Nippon Columbia label has no direct relation with either the American Columbia Records (part of the Sony Music group in the United States and known in Japan as Sony Records International; however, it should be noted that Nippon Columbia was the licensee for the American Columbia Records up until 1968, when CBS/Sony (now Sony Music) was founded) or the British EMI group, of which the original Columbia Graphophone Co. was a part, which operated in Japan as Toshiba-EMI.

[Zoloft]

Nippon Columbia (T-H-L)

Aside from common historical roots, the current Nippon Columbia label has no direct relation with either the American Columbia Records (part of the Sony Music group in the United States and known in Japan as Sony Records International; however, it should be noted that Nippon Columbia was the licensee for the American Columbia Records up until 1968, when CBS/Sony (now Sony Music) was founded) or the British EMI group, of which the original Columbia Graphophone Co. was a part, which operated in Japan as Toshiba-EMI.

Yes... very clear.

[Poetlister]

Norma McCorvey (T-H-L): Roe in "Roe v Wade". "McCorvey's father died on September 27, 1995. She was of partial Cajun ancestry.[2]" The second sentence is misplaced; it should come immediately after "McCorvey was born in Simmesport, Louisiana". Also, the reference says "Part Cajun, part Cherokee Indian"; why has the second part been omitted?

[Poetlister]

British Isles naming dispute (T-H-L): "The Crown dependencies of the Channel Islands, are considered part of the British Islands and may also for geo-political reasons be included in the British Isles, despite not being geographically part of the archipelago." The term "British Islands" is not defined anywhere in the article. As a bonus, hypercritical people will note that the first comma is in the wrong place.

[thekohser]

British Isles naming dispute (T-H-L): "The Crown dependencies of the Channel Islands, are considered part of the British Islands and may also for geo-political reasons be included in the British Isles, despite not being geographically part of the archipelago." The term "British Islands" is not defined anywhere in the article. As a bonus, hypercritical people will note thatl the first comma is in the wrong place.

That'll peeve some people.

[Poetlister]

J. C. Squire (T-H-L): "His own Selections from Modern Poets anthology series, launched in 1921, became definitive of the conservative style of Georgian poetry." The last part of the sentence is rather garbled. On any reasonable interpretation, the sentence is wrong. He produced two anthologies of Selections from Modern Poets, virtually all of which are indeed poems in Georgian style; that is scarcely a series. (The second one is not listed in the bibliography at the end of the article.) His other anthologies contain few if any Georgian poems.

[Kingsindian]

Stanislaw Ulam (T-H-L)

In pure and applied mathematics, he proved some theorems and proposed several conjectures.

[thekohser]

During 1970-71 the park was restored inspired by its barock past as of 1769 under the lead of Walter Bauer, using drawings of Adolf-Fredrik Barnekow and Emanuel de Geer.

[Poetlister]

barock

That qualifies for the thread on illiteracy. Possibly the editor is German-speaking, as that's the German spelling, but then you'd expect a capital B.

[Rogol Domedonfors]

Did you know? is the gift that keeps on giving. Today: "the Japanese pygmy woodpecker (T-H-L) becomes smaller and darker from the north of its range to the south?", echoing the sentence in that article

The bird becomes smaller and darker from the north of its range to the south

That would be worth seeing as the bird flies from north to south, changing in size and colour as it goes. The article is attempting to talk about a variation in the population, not in the individuals.

Bear in mind, this is a sentence that Wikipedians think so highly of that they want to show it to everyone who lands on their website.

[Poetlister]

Even if you re-word the sentence to something like "Birds in the southern part of the range are smaller and darker than in the northern part" it's probably wrong. You'd have to say "On average, birds in the southern part of the range are smaller and darker than in the northern part", but that's getting too cumbersome for a DYK.

[thekohser]

Even if you re-word the sentence to something like "Birds in the southern part of the range are smaller and darker than in the northern part" it's probably wrong. You'd have to say "On average, birds in the southern part of the range are smaller and darker than in the northern part", but that's getting too cumbersome for a DYK.

And even still, it's not something that most people would particularly need or care to know.

I wonder how long a similar DYK might last along the lines of... "People in the southern part of the Mississippi Valley are poorer and darker than in the northern part".

Please don't brand me as a racist, unless you have proof that what I state above is biologically and demographically false.

[Rogol Domedonfors]

Certain species of insect "mine" the leaves of plants. The sentence "The mine has the form of a ptychonomous blotch mine" occurs nine times on Wikipedia, in articles about moths of the Phyllonorycter (T-H-L) genus. So what does it mean? Wikipedia is of no help: the phrase "blotch mine" occurs 191 times without explanation, and the word "ptychonomous" 34 times, in each case in articles about this moth genus. Quick, to the internet! The word "ptychonom" is defined in A Dictionary of Entomology, and "ptychnome" in Biology of the Leaf Miners by E.M. Hering. This astonishingly rare word is more often written "tentiform", which occurs 240 times on Wikipedia. None of these terms is defined in the article Leaf mine (T-H-L).

Lesson: don't write the same extremely obscure word or phrase dozens of times in an encyclopaedia without checking to see whether there's any way in which a reader might be able to determine what, if anything, it actually means.

[Rogol Domedonfors]

The City Circle Line (T-H-L) is a proposed new metro line for Copenhagen. It is set to have a particularly big effect on the city's transport system, because "The transit agency Movia projects up to 34 million passengers will switch from buses to the Metro annually." That means that every year, more than the entire population of Scandinavia will come to Copenhagen in order to announce "no more bus journeys for me -- in future it's the Copenhagen Metro!" Or possibly, every day 100,000 people will get off a bus in Copenhagen and cross over to the Metro to complete their journey. Or possibly, a transport passenger volume of 34 million passenger journeys per year will switch from using the bus only to using the Metro only. Or what?

Lesson: Rates and rates of change are not the same thing.

[Poetlister]

The City Circle Line (T-H-L) is a proposed new metro line for Copenhagen. It is set to have a particularly big effect on the city's transport system, because "The transit agency Movia projects up to 34 million passengers will switch from buses to the Metro annually." That means that every year, more than the entire population of Scandinavia will come to Copenhagen in order to announce "no more bus journeys for me -- in future it's the Copenhagen Metro!" Or possibly, every day 100,000 people will get off a bus in Copenhagen and cross over to the Metro to complete their journey. Or possibly, a transport passenger volume of 34 million passenger journeys per year will switch from using the bus only to using the Metro only. Or what?

Lesson: Rates and rates of change are not the same thing.

That's a standard way of expressing things in transport circles (pun intended). It means that every year, 34 million journeys previously made by bus wil be made on the metro instead. Is it reasonable to use such language, well understood by some, in Wikipedia, given that it will be read by the uninitiated?

[Rogol Domedonfors]

Maybe it does -- in fact between ourselves I think it does: it's the third of my options. What was written does not mean that in plain English. It may be that "passengers" in transport parlance means "passenger journeys", but it would be more helpful for the English-language Wikipedia to express itself in the English language rather than a misleading jargon.

[Poetlister]

Maybe it does -- in fact between ourselves I think it does: it's the third of my options. What was written does not mean that in plain English. It may be that "passengers" in transport parlance means "passenger journeys", but it would be more helpful for the English-language Wikipedia to express itself in the English language rather than a misleading jargon.

That's a reasonable position, but there are limits. This is not Simple Wikipedia.

[Poetlister]

D. H. Lawrence (T-H-L): Two consecutive sentences:

" His early works clearly place him in the school of Georgian poets, a group not only named after the reigning monarch but also to the romantic poets of the previous Georgian period whose work they were trying to emulate." No, although his work was included in the anthologies of Georgian Poetry (T-H-L) that gave their name to the movement, "Lawrence was not a Georgian in any real sense" (James Reeves, Georgian Poetry, page xxii; this book is mysteriously not referenced in the Georgian Poetry article). Also, these poets were not trying to emulate the Romantic poets; they were in reaction to "the aftermath of ninetyish reaction [to the Romantics]" (Reeves, ibid. page xii).

"What typified the entire movement, and Lawrence's poems of the time, were well-worn poetic tropes and deliberately archaic language." Has this chap ever read anything by John Masefield (T-H-L) or Wilfred Owen (T-H-L) for example?

[hack]

Not a proper per se but the article name List of dust storms with visibility of 1/4 mile or less, or meters or less (T-H-L) seems to be missing something.

[Poetlister]

Not a proper per se but the article name List of dust storms with visibility of 1/4 mile or less, or meters or less (T-H-L) seems to be missing something.

Presumably "400 meters". But what a stupid article! How can there be any claim to completeness? At present there's nothing from 1935 to 2006, but there must have been quite a few in that time.

[Johnny Au]

Not a proper per se but the article name List of dust storms with visibility of 1/4 mile or less, or meters or less (T-H-L) seems to be missing something.

It's the king of worst article names. It's incomplete even!